


Royalty

by JoshPupWrites



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: F/M, Reader-Insert, Some angst, first hoshi fic so enjoy!, im bad at tags lmao, lots of fluff, prince AU, prince soonyoung, royal au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2018-12-11 12:32:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11714463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoshPupWrites/pseuds/JoshPupWrites
Summary: You’re driven from your own kingdom by your wicked step-mother and flee to the one safe place you know…but how safe will it stay





	1. Chapter 1

Wonwoo strolled across the palace grounds, his navy blue coat trailing after him. He held a few books in one hand, and some plants he was going to make medicine with later that evening. Of course, that didn’t happen because he stumbled upon you on his way to his work room. Wonwoo had stopped by the palace gates to say hello to his close friend Mingyu, a palace guard, when he found Mingyu was already occupied. There you stood, clothed in a tattered white cloak, you’re white boots muddied and broke and your hair a mess, falling out of the braid it was originally in. On of your gloved hands held onto the reins that belonged to a tired and hungry looking horse. The sight was pitiful. As he walked closer, the words exchanged between you and Mingyu became more clear.

“Miss, it’s the middle of the night, and the Prince hasn’t informed me of your arrival, I simply cannot let you in.” Mingyu said, resting his hand on the sword strapped around his waist.

“I promise Prince Seungcheol knows me!” you cried, taking a step closer to Mingyu. “I’m the princess of the Snow Kingdom!”

“I’m sorry ma’am, maybe if you come back in the morning…” Mingyu declared.

“Mingyu!” Wonwoo called out a few steps away from the gate.

“Oh hey Wonwoo.” Mingyu answered with a small smile, still not taking his attention off you.

“Mingyu, let her in, i’ll take responsibility if she isn’t who she says she is, and of course, there will be a punishment for her as well if she is not who she claims.”

“But Wonwoo…” Mingyu said, turning to face him better.

“It’s fine.” Wonwoo said with a smile. To be quite honest, Wonwoo didn’t know what had come over him, but there was a certain air to you that made you seem like royalty. Eventually Mingyu sighed and opened the gate. You thanked Mingyu and walked through the gate, pulling your horse alongside you. Right away, Wonwoo noticed the limp in your step that you were trying to hard to cover.

“Are you hurt?” Wonwoo questioned, looking down at your foot. You laughed sheepishly.

“Just a bit.” Wonwoo sighed and shifted everything into one arm, then grabbed the reins of your horse from your hand.

“Get back on your horse, you shouldn’t walk on that foot.” He stated. You easily mounted your horse and wonwoo raised an eyebrow. Maybe he’d made a mistake, would a princess really be able to mount a horse so easily without and help, and with one hurt foot as well? He hoped you really were a princess, because if not the result wouldn’t be good for either of you.

Wonwoo led the horse across the palace grounds, and to his workshop where he had originally been heading. He tied your horse on a post not far from the door and helped you off your horse as easily as he could with only one free hand. You hobbled your way into the building and eventually came to land on a seat Wonwoo had pointed you too. Wonwoo set his things down on a table and quickly set to work, gathering various herbs and jars, and finally a bandage. He knelt down in front of you and gently removed your boot, revealing a rather swollen ankle. He frowned as he poked around your ankle, checking to see if it was broken or not.

“It’s just a simple sprain, it should be better in a few days if you don’t walk on it too much.”

As Wonwoo ground the herbs together in order to make a paste to take the swelling down he looked at you.

“So if you are who you say you are, then what are you doing here?” He questioned, looking back down at his work. You thought for a moment, not sure how much you should tell this new person.

“You could say my kingdom was under attack in a manner of speaking…” You finally answered, clasping your hands in your lap. Wonwoo cocked his head to the side and looked at you, as a way to tell you he needed more of an explanation.

“My step-mother took the throne a few days ago when my father passes away, and now she is trying to kill me because next year i’ll be old enough to claim the throne.” you finally said. Wonwoo nodded.

“Why come here though?” he asked as he added some kind of liquid and began to mix it into a smooth green paste.

“Well, partly because i trust Prince Seungcheol the most, but also because it was the only place i know how to get.” you answered with a small laugh.

“One more question…” Wonwoo said as he began to spread the paste onto a plaster, “What’s your name?”

“(y/n), and you’re Wonwoo as i understand?” you answered, trying not to wince as wonwoo gently applied the plaster to your swelling ankle. Wonwoo nodded slowly as he began to wrap your foot.

“Prince Seungcheol will be awake early in the morning, we can go and meet him then, until then, I suggest you get some rest.” Wonwoo stated as he stood up and admired his handwork.

He led you to a bed that was attached to his office, no doubt there for the sick or injured people that come to see him, but you didn’t care, a bed was a bed, and you hadn’t gotten a good night of sleep for several days now. You thanked Wonwoo gratefully and pulled off your cloak and other shoe, happily climbing into the soft bed.

When you woke up the next morning and walked out of the small room, you found wonwoo sitting at his desk, hunched over a book. As you neared him, he looked up and noticed you.

“Good morning, you’re looking a little rough, you should clean up before you meet with the prince today.” he stated before turning back to his work. You gasped and rushed back into the room you had come from, going straight for the mirror. Wonwoo was right, you were a mess. Your nightgown was no longer white, and had rips all along the bottom. The braid that had once held your hair back was now more like a big knot. Your face was muddied and scratched, and your hands were blistered from holding the horse’s reins so long. You set to work on your hair, pulling the hair band out and running your fingers through it so the knots would come out. Most of the knots weren’t coming out since you didn’t have a brush so you decided to put your hair back in a braid to hide how gross your long hair really was. After looking around the room, you located a wash basin and filled it with water. You scrubbed the dirt from your hands and face, and even washed your arms as well as you could. As for your nightgown, there wasn’t anything you could do for that. You had left so quickly from your kingdom you didn’t have time to change into your proper clothing.

You picked up the cloak you had thrown onto a chair before you went to bed last night and put it on, hiding the fact you were wearing a nightgown as best you could. Meeting a prince in a nightgown would be frowned upon. No matter what the circumstances were, you are still a princess after all. A bit less disheveled, you walked out of the room for a second time that morning. This time Wonwoo stood waiting for you, your shoes by his feet. You walked over and took them from him, hastily sitting on the floor to put them on.

“Are you sure you are a princess?” Wonwoo inquired, “you aren’t very graceful.”

“I got told that a lot back at my kingdom.” you answered as you slipped your boot over the bandage around your ankle. Wonwoo grunted, but made no reply. Eventually the two of you set off to meet with the prince at last.

It took the two of you a while to get to your destination, partly because you were hobbling, but also because you were amazed at how beautiful everything looked.

“This kingdom is so pretty! Look at all the flowers and plants!” You exclaimed happily. Wonwoo looked at you questioningly.

“There is only snow in my kingdom, we didn’t get pretty flowers like these, i’ve only ever seen flowers a few times in my life.” you explained as you examined a honeysuckle plant that had wrapped itself around one of the columns. Wonwoo nodded and continued to watch you giggle over the beautiful plants. Finally you moved on and followed Wonwoo to the room that Prince Seungcheol could be found in. You had expected it to be a throne room, but instead it was an ordinary office. Wonwoo knocked on the door and a loud voice answered saying to come in. You let out a deep breath, Seungcheol better recognize you. It has been a few years, and your appearance was a mess; your life is on the line.

Wonwoo pushed the door open and walked in, you following close behind.

“Oh, good morning Wonwoo.” Seungcheol said from his desk across the room.

“Good morning,” Wonwoo started, “last night I met someone who was looking for you.” he said as he stepped to one side, revealing you. Seungcheol stared at you for a moment, but soon smiled.

“Well I haven’t seen you in a long time Princess (y/n). Why aren’t you at your kingdom?” he questioned, standing up from his desk. Your nervousness melted away upon being recognized.

“About that…” you started, smiling awkwardly.

“What happened to you? Why do you look like that?” Seungcheol asked, noticing how disheveled you looked. 

“My father passed away,” you stated, “and my step-mother took the throne.” Seungcheol’s face became full of worry.

“Oh (y/n), I’m so sorry…” he whispered, shocked upon learning the beloved king for the snow kingdom had passed away.

“It wouldn’t have been to awful, but my step-mother sent people to try and kill me…” you explained for the second time. “I came here because its the only safe place I know. If it would okay if i could hide in your kingdom for a while i would greatly appreciate it, i don’t think she’ll send people after me as long as i don’t go back home, so it shouldn’t cause any issues for you.” you said, practically begging towards the end. Staying here was the only hope you had left.

“Of course you can stay here.” Seungcheol answered with a soft smile. “Our fathers were great friends, it’s the least I can do.” A huge smile spread across your face.

“Thank you so much Seungcheol!” You exclaimed, holding yourself back from hugging the prince. Seungcheol turned towards Wonwoo, who still stood off to the side.

“Thank you for bringing her here.” He said. Wonwoo bowed and left the room, leaving just you and Seungcheol.

“Follow me, i’ll take you to one of the spare rooms we have. You can stay there.”

“I was just going to find a place in the village, i don’t want to impose!” you remarked, rushing after Seungcheol, who was at the door already.

“No, you’re like family to me. My father and i use to come up to your kingdom so often when i was little, you’re like my little sister, i couldn’t let you stay in the village at a time like this. Plus it’ll be safer if anything does happen.” He declared as the two of you walked down the long hallways.

“Thank you Seungcheol.” you said gratefully after a long silence. Seungcheol smiled.

Seungcheol opened the door to a beautiful bedroom. A huge bed sat pushed against a wall in the middle of the bedroom, and a huge window that overlooked a beautiful garden. Seungcheol smiled when he heard you gasp of delight. He leaned against the door frame as you ran over to the window to look out at all the beautiful flowers that grew in front of it.

“Do you like it?” He questioned. You nodded excitedly.

“Good, I’ll have some of the maids bring you some fresh clothes, just wait here for a few minutes.” he stated before leaving.

As he had said, a few minutes later the maids showed up with a fresh dress. They drew a warm bath for you, and you happily washed the grime from your hair and skin. When you got out the maids helped you dress and did your hair. As they worked you talked with them, learning their names and how they came into the job. The three of you laughed and chatted for a while. It was nice to talk easily with people again. You thanked them once they finished and stood staring out the window for a while after they left. After a while you decided it would be a good idea to explore the new palace you would be staying at for who knows how long. You left your room, clean and refreshed, with only a slight limp to prove the state you had been in this morning had actually happened.

You walked happily through the halls, your hands clasped behind your back. Sunlight shown through the green tree leaves, creating speckled light to fall on the floor in front of the window. You could feel the sun’s warmth as you passed by the patches of light. As much as you loved your own kingdom, the change in scenery was nice.

Somehow you ended up wandering outside, coming to rest on a bench in the middle of a garden. A soft breeze ruffled your pastel blue dress, and the fountain next to you splashed around happily. You finally felt at peace. How you could feel at peace when you beloved kingdom was under the rule of a wicked queen was beyond you, but maybe you were just going crazy from pain killers Wonwoo had you take before you met with Seungcheol.

You leaned back on one hand and closed your eyes as you let the sunshine cover you like a warm blanket. As you basked in the sun, the sound of footsteps could be heard along the stone path you had followed to the bench. You opened your eyes to look at who was coming, but quickly pulled your hand up to shade your eyes from the bright sun. After blinking several times, the figure in front of you finally came into focus. There, right before your eyes, stood the most beautiful person you had ever seen. With his dark black hair and sparkling eyes that seemed to shine brighter than the sun. His hand resting on the silver hilt of his sword strapped to his waist and a small smile on his lips.

“Who are you?” He questioned.

“Who are you?” You asked back, ignoring his question.

“Prince Soonyoung of the Ocean Kingdom.” he answered proudly, a bright smile appearing on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

You stood up and stared at him. What was the prince of the Ocean Kingdom doing here?

“And your name?” Soonyoung questioned for the second time.

“I-I…” you started to stammer before you were cut off by a voice from behind you. You followed Sooyoung’s gaze and turned to see Seungcheol walking up to the two of you. Seungcheol smiled and came to a stop next to you.

“I see you’ve met Soonyoung.” Seungcheol declared with a bit of a chuckle.

“Yes, she was just about to introduce herself.” Soonyoung stated with a smile. You turned to look at Seungcheol, wondering if it was safe to tell Soonyoung who you really are. You weren’t sure who you could trust anymore. Seungcheol quickly understood what you were trying to ask him.

“It’s alright, he’s on our side.” Seungcheol said in a hushed voice. You nodded, then turned to Soonyoung. With a small curtsy you introduced yourself, along with your royal title. Seungcheol then explained the circumstance regarding you and your kingdom. Soonyoung nodded and ran his fingers through his black hair.

“That’s quite the situation now, isn’t it?” He finally signed after Seungcheol had finished explaining everything.

“Yes, but Seungcheol has been nice enough to let me stay here so I can’t complain.” you said with a smile. The two boys smiled as well, nodding slightly. After chatting for a few more minutes, and admiring Seungcheol’s beautiful garden, the three of you headed inside for lunch.

You found eating meals with Seungcheol was much more enjoyable than at home. Everything was less formal, and he didn’t have the awful long tables that separated everyone that sat at the table to such a point it wasn’t even worth trying to talk to them. But at Seungcheol’s place there was a simple circular table, small enough for you, Soonyoung and Seungcheol to sit comfortably but still be close enough to hold decent conversations. The three of you laughed and talked of simple nothings. You enjoyed the gentle breeze that blew through the open windows, catching the white curtains, causing them to flutter in the wind. The bird chirped happily in the trees outside and the staff moved about with a certain bounce in their step that only improved the mood of the kingdom.

After the dessert of sweet fruits had been placed in front of each person and the serves left the room, Seungcheol turned to you.

“(Y/n), I was thinking, since there is no telling if your stepmother sent someone after you, it would be best to have a personal guard at you side.” He declared. You set your fork down and looked at him.

“Don’t you think that is a bit much? If i’m trying to stay hidden wouldn’t having a guard by my side at all times give me away? I’m sure your staff would notice something.”

“I think Seungcheol’s idea is very practical. It’s better to be safe than sorry.” Soonyoung stated. You thought for a moment, aware of both pairs of eyes staring at you.

“If it’s not too much trouble, then i suppose it wouldn’t hurt.” you finally concluded.

“Good, I’ll assign someone to you after we finish lunch.” You nodded, picking up your fork again and returning back to the plate of fruit that sat in front of you.

After lunch Seungcheol rushed off to figure out who would be best suited to protect you, leaving you and Soonyoung to wander the palace grounds.

“You’re very level for a princess.” Soonyoung suddenly said, breaking the silence that followed the two of you as you walked through the halls.

“What’s that suppose to mean?” you asked, clasping your hands behind your back and looking up at him with a puzzled look on your face.

“Well, most of the princesses I’ve met haven’t been anything like you. They are more concerned with their appearance and trivial things to pay much attention to important subjects at hand, and they would be a whining, complaining mess if they where in you situation.”

“You must not have met many decent princesses than…” You laughed. Soonyoung laughed and nodded.

“I suppose I haven’t.”

The two of you continued to walk around the palace, not saying a word. If anything it was more Soonyoung trailing after you as you flitted about the grounds, watching you admire various things, from the stone structures, to flowers, and the small butterfly that fluttered past you. You came to a stop in front of the palace gates, looking out into the city that had grown up in front of the palace. You stared out at the city, watching the people hurry about, carrying various baskets and other items.

“Do you want to go see the city?” Soonyoung questioned, walking up next to you.

“I don’t think it would be safe for me to go out.” you replied, still looking out of the gates.

“Ah, but (y/n), you forget that i’ll be with you.” Soonyoung stated, patting the top of his sword. You thought for a moment, weighing the pros and cons.

“Lets go.” you finally declared.

The two of you quickly stopped by your room so you could pick up your cloak. The muddied, torn cloak covered your pastel blue dress perfectly, to the point where you blended in naturally with the other citizens, but Soonyoung was another story. His white and blue suit stood out against the dull colors worn by the people, he clearly came off as some kind of nobility, if not royalty. With sashes and buckles, along with the very obvious sword, he stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Shouldn’t you have grabbed a cloak or changed or something?” you whispered to him as two ladies walked past, whispering and pointing. Soonyoung looked down at his clothing and signed.

“Whoops!” he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. You rolled your eyes then began to look for a shop where you could buy him something to cover his oh so obvious outfit with. Within a few minutes a small shop was located and Soonyoung was soon covered by a long brown cloak that covered his fancy outfit perfectly.

“Do you think we should have let Seungcheol know before we left?” You questioned as the two of you walked past the bustling market. Soonyoung shook his head.

“No, the only reason he would have wanted to know is to make sure you are safe, and I’m here with you, so of course you’re safe.” 

“How would I know if you could really keep me safe, I’ve only just met you.” You mumbled.

The two of you walked around the city for quite a while. You stopped to roam around the flower shop, smiling down at all the unique and colorful plants. Soonyoung stayed by your side the whole time, not once losing sight of you. Soonyoung had never felt so content before. Simply watching you get excited over little things here and there filled him with such joy, he wasn’t sure why, but he knew he liked being around you.

The two of you continued to walk the crowded streets, the sky slowly growing darker and soon lights appeared in the windows of the buildings lining the streets. You watched as the people put together a big fire in the center of the town square. The twos folk were happy and chattered to their hearts content, not worrying about reputations to uphold, or someone coming after them like most royalty deals with. Soon lively music filled the square and everyone began to dance around the fire, laughing as the jumped and spinned. You and Soonyoung stood on the side, watching the young girls cast glances to the young men that stood, admiring how graceful they looked as they danced, the way their long hair fell about their shoulders, and the way their dress moved as the spun. You smiled as you watched one boy finally pluck up the courage to talk to one of the girls who had just been dancing when the song finally finished.

Soonyoung looked down at you, noticing the soft smile that was forming on your lips. He didn’t care to follow your gaze to see what was making you happy, how could he pull his eyes from someone so beautiful. The way the firelight illuminated your face, and caused your beautiful eyes to sparkle. Everything seemed to fade into nothing as he looked at you. You felt him staring down at him and turned to look at him, immediately catching the gaze of his dark eyes. You stared up at him and smiled.

“This is such a happy kingdom! Is yours like this?” you questioned, breaking Soonyoung from his trance. He thought for a moment, trying to come back to his senses.

“Mm, yes, they are quite a happy bunch. You should come and visit soon and see for yourself.” He answered. You nodded, turning back to look at the fire.

“I shall have to visit soon then…”

“(Y/N)!” a voice yelled from behind you. Startled by the loud voice, you turned to see who was calling you. You were surprised to see it was the guard you had met when you first arrived at this kingdom.

“Oh, Mingyu right?” you asked, remembering the name Wonwoo had called him that night. The guard nodded, resting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” he exclaimed, panting.

“Why?” you questioned.

“Prince Seungcheol assigned me to be your guard. I didn’t think it would be this hard from the start though.” He answered, standing up straight and adjusting his cloak to cover his uniform. You laughed.

“I’m sorry Mingyu, Prince Soonyoung assured me it would be fine if I left since I would be with him.” Soonyoung smiled sheepishly.

“From now on I’ll accompany you everywhere ma’am.” Mingyu declared.

“That may get annoying…” you mumbled under your breath so no one could hear you. “It would be best if you just call me by my name then, it’ll be a little less suspicious.” you said, and Soonyoung nodded in agreement.

“Will do!” Mingyu answered with a bright smile. “Now we should head back to the kingdom, it’s a little unsafe here at night.”

“Really? But it seems so peaceful…” you said, looking back at the merriment that surrounded the bright blazing fire.

“Well–” Mingyu began, only to be cut off by a loud crash.


	3. Chapter 3

Both Soonyoung and Mingyu reached for their swords concealed under their cloaks. Mingyu’s usually happy face had become stone cold and Soonyoung’s eyes darted all over, looking for the source of the crash. Mingyu relaxed when he located the source of the noise; simply a drunken man who had staggered into a stack of crates. Soonyoung let out a sigh of relief when he saw there was no trouble in the end.

“Mingyu’s right, we should probably head back.” Soonyoung said after a moment of silence. You agreed reluctantly and followed the two boys back towards the castle. 

When you finally got back, you were greeted by a very worried looking Seungcheol, and a guy you had never seen stood behind him.

“Where did you go?” He asked, rushing up to you. You glanced over at Soonyoung, as if to say that it wasn’t a good idea to leave without telling the prince.

“Soonyoung and I just went to explore the town, sorry for not telling you…” you apologized. Seungcheols worried expression melted into a small smile.

“You’re still the same way as when you were little. You would just disappear for hours on end because you never told anyone where you were going.” he chuckled. You grinned sheepishly, remembering all the times you got scolded for leaving without telling anyone.

“Um, your highness?” the brunette spoke up from behind Seungcheol, causing him to turn in the boy’s direction. “The meeting will be starting soon.” Seungcheol grunted but turned back to you and Soonyoung.

“I’m going to have to go now, but please, don’t wander off, and if you do, at least take Mingyu with you.” Seungcheol pleaded before leaving you for the second time that day. You turned to look at Soonyoung and Mingyu, not sure what should happen next.

“Well, I think i’ll retire for the night.” Soonyoung declared after a moment of silence. You nodded and Mingyu bowed.

“Good night, your highness.” Mingyu’s strong voice rang out. Soonyoung smiled, and within minutes had disappeared into the elaborate halls of Seungcheol’s palace. You stood silently watching him leave before you turned to face Mingyu.

“So i’m guessing i missed dinner, yes?” you questioned.

“Yes, your highness.” Mingyu answered.

“I thought we agreed to drop the highness part.” you mumbled, “anyways, do you think there is any food left over?”

“I’m sure there is something, lets go check.” he said, leading the way towards the kitchen you assumed. You weren’t sure if you would ever get use to the long, twisting halls that comprised the castle. You followed Mingyu in awe as he quickly passed corners and slipped through halls and down stairs. You were completely lost in a matter of minutes.

“Geez, this palace is huge!” you exclaimed as you finally arrived at the kitchen. 

“Was your palace not like this?” Mingyu asked as he opened the door, revealing a dark, abandoned kitchen.

“It’s about half this size and not nearly as many levels and hallways. I don’t understand how you’re not totally lost!” After saying that Mingyu let out a chuckle.

“I got lost many times when I first started working here. It took me a year to learn how to get everywhere. Wonwoo helped me out a lot when I first got here.” he said as he began to poke around the kitchen, looking for some sort of food. You nodded as he spoke, for just a palace guard he spoke quite elegantly compared to most others, then again, Seungcheol trusted and liked Mingyu enough to assign him as your personal body guard so he must be really good at what he does.

Eventually, Mingyu was able to gather an assortment of fruits, and a few cheeses with some bread.

“It’s nothing fancy, but it will do.” Mingyu stated as he set down a glass of water for you. You sat down at the long counter and was about to start eating when you noticed Mingyu hadn’t joined you yet. You set down your fork and looked at him. He stared back at you questioningly.

“You didn’t have dinner either because you were busy trying to find me right? You must be hungry.” you pointed out. Mingyu shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other.

“Please join me, i don’t like to eat alone, plus this is quite a lot of food. I could never eat this all on my own.”

Mingyu broke into a huge smile as he sat down across from you, grabbing a slice of bread while you stabbed your fork into the fruit he had cut up.

The two of you talked while you ate your make shift dinner, and continued to talk long after having finished your meal. You told him all about the kingdom you had come from, how everything looked and how no matter what season it was, there would always be snow on the ground. You described your palace and how the style of clothing was so different then how it is here in the mountain kingdom. In exchange, Mingyu told you about his life before he had become a palace guard. How he had come from the poorer area of the kingdom and that was why he learned how to fight so well. He spoke about his friends that he used to hang out with, most who had ended up in the other two kingdoms, Ocean (which Soonyoung was prince of) and Desert. He told you the story of how Wonwoo had stumbled upon him after a fight he had gotten into, trying to protect one of the younger kids who lived in the streets and patched him up and found him a good job as a palace guard. He talked about the moment Seungcheol noticed him fighting and took him under his wing to give him special training to become how he is now as if it was yesterday. The whole time he spoke there was a smile on his lips, but he’s eyes were sad and lacked their usual sparkle. The two of you genuinely enjoyed talking with each other, which would be a good thing since Mingyu would be by your side for who knows how long. Mingyu already felt like the sibling you never had.

You finally retired for the night with a full stomach and a smile and, changed into your nightgown, you slipped into the soft bed, pulling the covers up to your chin with a giggle. It had been a while since you had slept in a bed this comfortable. Within minutes you were fast asleep.

As the kingdom slept, a hooded figure stalked through the streets. He was sure you would come here, you didn’t know any other place to come too. The queen would be so proud of him when he finally killed you, he would finally get a higher up job, all he needed to do was fulfill the one request the queen had given him. He searched through the town, looking for any trace of you, but soon decided to come back in the morning and ask the townsmen if they had seen anyone like you. You were not doubt being careful about your surroundings. What he never expected was that you had gone to Prince Seungcheol and would stay in the palace.

When you walked into the dinning room for breakfast the next morning, you found Seungcheol and Soonyoung already sitting down in their respective chairs, dressed in much finer clothes than they had worn previously.

“Are you two going somewhere?” you questioned as you sat down in your chair, Mingyu silently standing off in one corner of the room.

“The four kingdoms are meeting up today to re-establish the peace treaties we’ve made with each other.” Seungcheol answered after taking a bite of his food.

“That’s the whole reason I came to stay with Seungcheol, my kingdom is the furtherest away from the meeting place, so he offered to let my stay here.” Soonyoung pointed out. You nodded, serving some fruit onto your plate.

“To be honest, i had forgotten about that. I wonder who will be there for my kingdom. It should have been me…” you mumbled, causing the boys faces to drop, reminded of the tragedy that had befallen you.

“We’ll try and find out how your people are doing when we get there, don’t worry too much.” Seungcheol said with a soft smile. You smiled back, happy that you were surrounded by caring people. 

Not much talking occurred during that breakfest. Either the guys were to busy worrying about the trip they were soon to make, and the issues that occur when you put four powerful people in one room, or they could sense your agitated mood. Rather than the usual sadness that came along with the thought of your kingdom, it was slowly turning into anger. You were angry at yourself for running away and leaving your kingdom, and you were angry at you step-mother for acting the way she did. Your emotions were all over the place. Some moments you had never been more content and never wanted to leave Seungcheols peaceful kingdom, and other times rage consumed you, and you felt as if you had enough power to storm back into your kingdom and take control without getting a single scratch.

You had been thinking so hard about your kingdom, you didnt notice Seungcheol and Soonyoung stand up from the table. A tap on your shoulder brought you back into the present.

“Seungcheol and I are leaving now.” Soonyoung declared. You stood up and nodded. Soonyoung looked at you as if he had something to say but hesitated. Finally he spoke up.

“Seungcheol told me not to tell you, but there are rumors going around that one of your queen’s men is looking for you around the town.” he said as he fidgeted with one of the light blue sashes on his white uniform. You nodded again, you had expected this to happen, just not this soon.

“Mingyu will be with me, so i’ll be fine!” you finally said. Soonyoung looked at you with his dark eyes, but soon smiled like he usually did.

“Alright! I’ll see you tomorrow (y/n)!” He exclaimed, turning to walk out of the room. Before he had left, he stopped next to Mingyu.

“Take care of her.” he said just low enough that only Mingyu would hear.

“Of course, sir.” 

And with that, Soonyoung had vanished. You walked up to Mingyu with a questioning look on your face but he said nothing. After following you through a few halls Mingyu spoke up.

“What do you plan to do by yourself today?” he asked. You shrugged your shoulders.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. But anyways, i’m not by myself, i have you with me.” you said with a smile. Mingyu smiled.

“I suggest we stay within the castle walls, since neither Prince Seungcheol or Prince Soonyoung will be here.”

“Oh I know!” you said excitedly. “Let’s go visit Wonwoo!”

“Okay!” Mingyu said just as excited. “And i can show you around the castle if we get a chance.”

You nodded and smiled, happily walking alongside Mingyu (although his strides were bigger than yours, so it took some extra effort to keep up with him). Wonwoo’s office ended up being on the other side of the palace, so you got to see a decent amount of the palace, although Mingyu assured you there was more than meets the eye. The staff bustled about in various uniforms and carrying various items. Mingyu waved at a few guards as the two of you passed them and they smiled back. You wondered what rumors had gone around the staff as to who you are. The only people who actually knew you were the missing princess where Seungcheol and Soonyoung, and of course Mingyu, and lastly Wonwoo. You’d only known Wonwoo for a short while, but you could tell he wouldn’t be the type to gossip about something like that. The only thing the staff must know is that you are some kind of royalty, considering their prince speaks so freely with you.

After weaving through several corridors and eventually through a very beautiful court yard, you arrived at Wonwoo’s office. It was exactly how you left it. He was sitting hunched over at his desk, books stacked in several piles all around him and the smell of dried herbs filled the room. He looked up from his book, no doubt expecting a patient, but smiled when he saw it was you and Mingyu.

“Oh hello.” he said, taking his circle glasses off and setting them on the book that now lay untouched on the desk. Mingyu grunted and flopped down on one of the chairs situated around the room.

“Please, have a seat.” Wonwoo said, gesturing to a chair across from Mingyu. He walked over to a small stove he had in the corner of the room and started making some hot tea. When you finally received the warm cup, you were amazed at how good it tasted.

“I spend a lot of time working with plants.” wonwoo stated with a shrug of his shoulders as he handed Mingyu a cup. “The best part about this tea is it gives you more energy.” he said as he took a sip of his own.

Out of all the places you had been in this palace, you liked Wonwoo’s room most of all. You liked the smell, and how he always kept a window open to let in the warm air and allowed you to hear the birds and the leaves rustle when the wind blows. You enjoyed his company, and how he didn’t talk all the time, but there was no pressure to talk in the first place. The three of you reclined in your chairs, taking deep breaths and just enjoyed yourself.

Honestly, you had almost drifted asleep when someone burst through the door. Your eyes flashed open and Mingyu jumped so much that some of his tea splashed onto his leg. Wonwoo however, remained completely unaffected, no doubt use to people crashing into his room in a frenzy.

“Mingyu, sir!” the guard said with a salute.

“What is it?” Mingyu demanded, standing up from his chair and setting his cup down, obviously agitated.

“He’s here, in the palace! The one everyone was talking about it in the town! I don’t know how he got in, but one of the maids spotted him and then someone found the missing guards bo–”

“Not here.” Mingyu cut him off, his eyes darting over to you for a split second. The guard seemed to understand and shut his mouth. You weren’t stupid though, you knew what he was about to say.

“Wonwoo, do you know around what time will the Princes will be back?” Mingyu questioned.

“Some time late tonight, possibly early tomorrow morning.” Wonwoo answered, now standing up. Mingyu nodded and thought for a second.

“No matter what happens, we must protect (y/n).”


	4. Chapter 4

Wonwoo rushed over to his desk and began pulling various things out the drawer and shoving them into a bag that had been lying nearby. Mingyu was talking in a hushed voice to the guard, making sure you couldn’t hear what he was saying. You didn’t know what to do with yourself, you obviously couldn’t help Mingyu, he wasn’t letting you, and helping Wonwoo was out of the option since you knew nothing about medicine. Before you could make up your mind to barge into Mingyu’s conversation and see what you could do to help, Wonwoo appeared by your side.

“Are you ready?” he questioned, shouldering the bag of things he had gathered. You shrugged your shoulders.

“There was nothing for me to really prepare for…” you mumbled. Wonwoo nodded and turned his attention to Mingyu who had started to make his way over to where the two of you stood.

“I’m assuming this guy is going to know what you look like, so you need to keep your face hidden at all times.” Mingyu declared, pulling one of wonwoo’s brown cloaks off a hook on the wall and threw it over your shoulders, pulling its hood over your head. You nodded, pulling the hood even further over your face so that it cause a shadow to fall over your eyes.

“Stick close to one of us no matter what happens.” Mingyu instructed as he quietly peered around the corners. You nodded once more, taking a few steps towards wonwoo as he was the nearest one to you.

“Alright…” Mingyu finally said, “Let’s go.”

And with that, the three of you snuck down the hallway, mingyu carefully peering around each corner to insure no one was there. You snuck through hallways, slipped into secret tunnels that slowly seemed to get more and more unknown with each step. The air got heavier, and the light darker, as well as many cobwebs hanging in corners. Wonwoo pulled a few things out of his bag and created a makeshift torch. No one dared talk, worried that someone might hear, although chances of another soul being down there were slim to none.

You wanted to ask where you were going, and if a guard was really killed. You wanted to know if the princes would be safe coming home. Part of you wanted to march right up into the light and hunt down this person and let him take you so that no one else would get hurt, but you knew that was a stupid thing to do. After everything Seungcheol and the others had done to protect you, you weren’t about to let that all go to waste.

It felt like you were walking forever before the path began to slope up, hopefully meaning you were getting closer to your destination. You trailed after the boys in the dim light, watching your feet peek out from under your dress with each step. You almost ran into Wonwoo when he suddenly stopped. You quickly jerked your head up, worried that something bad had happened, but you were met with a big smile from Mingyu.

“We’re here!” he announced, breaking the silence. You couldn’t help but smile. This means you were finally safe right? Mingyu reached up and pushed at the wooden board that blended in perfectly with the rest of the tunnel. If you hadn’t already known about this doors location, it would have been easily missed. The board gave way, causing a bit of dust to flutter down, but nothing to dramatic. Mingyu reached up and grabbed the ledge, and with a kick off the wall, he hoisted himself up. You and wonwoo watched as his legs disappeared, but soon his hand appeared.

“I’ll pull you up.” Mingyu stated as you moved to get a better look at his face.

“Are you sure? I’m heavy. Is there a ladder anywhere?” you asked, looking around the tunnel.

“A ladder would give everything away.” Wonwoo chuckled.

“If I can pull myself up, I’m sure i can pull you up.” Mingyu said. “You don’t really have a choice either way… what are you going to do? Walk back to the palace?”

Mingyu was right, and if he couldn’t pull you up, only his pride would be damaged at this point. You sighed, but grabbed his hand with both of yours. He pulled you up with surprising ease, to the point where it felt like you were as light as a feather.

“See? I’m a lot stronger than I look.” Mingyu laughed, placing you on the ground next to him. He quickly helped Wonwoo up then placed the wooden slab back over the hole. As your eyes adjusted to the dim light around you, you noticed you were in the middle of some type of house.

“Where are we?” you asked in a whisper, not wanted to ruin the perfect stillness that surrounded you.

“The princes safe house.” Mingyu declared. “Only the prince and I know about those passages and that this place even exists.”

“So, Wonwoo, you didn’t know this was here?” you asked, turning to Wonwoo. He shook his head.

“I had no clue about this.”

“It’s nearly impossible to find it without going through the passage; I don’t think the prince could even find it.” Mingyu said as he rested one hand on his sword. You nodded, taking in all the information while examining the small room. Mingyu made his way over to a small fireplace to your right and began to make a fire. As the light filled the dark room, you noticed it had no windows, so that even on the darkest of nights, no one would notice the small building. There was a small bed pushed to one corner and a small kitchen in the other corner. Only the bare minimum was in the house. You realized you wouldn’t be able to stay here forever, maybe not even more than a few days at this rate.

Wonwoo made his way over to the kitchen and began to pull things out of his bag and set them on the small amount of table space there was. You walked over the bed and sat down, not sure what to do with yourself. The situation wasn’t as bad as you had thought it would be. After the conditions that you bared through traveling to Seungcheol’s kingdom from your own, this was much better.

“How long do you think we are going to have to stay here?” You questioned as Mingyu stood up from the now blazing fire.

“Hopefully not long. If everything goes okay, Prince Seungcheol will come to get us when it’s over.” Mingyu answered, walking over to where you sat.

“And if not?” you asked, looking up at him. Mingyu was quiet. He didn’t have a plan past that. He was putting all his hope that Seungcheol would come for them.

“You should get some rest. We walked the whole afternoon.” Wonwoo spoke up, coming to stand next to Mingyu. Hearing Wonwoo say that made you realize how exhausted you where. You quickly said good night than took of your worn shoes and climbed under the stale blanket, your back facing the boys. As much as you were upset you had to be on the run again, you were glad that at least this time you weren’t alone.

About half way through the night, or so you supposed, there was a loud bang. You shot up in bed. Mingyu, who had ended up coming to rest leaning against the wall next to your bed launched up from the ground, sword already drawn. Wonwoo quickly stood up from the chair he had been sitting in not far from the fire. All eyes rested on the trap door. Another bang sounded, the trap door visibly moving. Someone was trying to get in. With one more hit, the board shot open. There was a moment of silence. All three of you held your breath, no one dared move.

“Mingyu?” a familiar voice called out in a loud whisper. Mingyu slowly walked over to the door, not making a single noise. He peered down into the tunnel that you had come from earlier that night.

“Your highnesses?” Mingyu said in disbelief. He quickly put away his sword and helped Seungcheol up, and then Soonyoung. As soon as Soonyoung was out of the tunnel he rushed over to you.

“Are you okay?” he asked frantically. You stared at him for a second, but slowly nodded. Soonyoung let out a long sigh of relief. 

“What are you doing back so soon, sir?” Wonwoo asked.

“Soonyoung overheard one of (y/n)’s stepmother’s guards talking about the assassin they sent here and Soonyoung insisted we come back.” Seungcheol answered. “I didn’t actually think there would be one though…” Soonyoung grunted at Seungcheols statement, but didn’t say anything.

“Is your kingdom okay?” You asked, standing up out of bed.

“Yes, but the assassin knows you’re here. Its best if you leave as soon as possible.” Seungcheol said.

“I’m glad your kingdom is okay…” you let out with a sigh.

“Thank you for your concern, but you have a bigger issue right now. Where will you go?” Seungcheol asked, taking a few steps closer.

“I don’t know…maybe i can go find a little town to live in.” you answered, sitting back down on the bed.

“No,” Soonyoung declared. “You’ll come back to my kingdom with me.”

“But Soonyoung, the assassin will only come find me at your kingdom!” you exclaimed.

“No matter where you go (y/n), he will follow you. “Let him come and try to take you, he’ll have to get through me first.” Soonyoung said firmly.

You looked from Soonyoung, to Seungcheol, then to Mingyu, as if asking for a second opinion.

“You should go with Prince Soonyoung. Like he said, you’ll be safest with him. The Ocean kingdom is one of the most powerful kingdoms.” Mingyu said, picking up on the looks you were giving him. You sat there for a minute, thinking about everything, trying to decide what the best choice was.

“Alright, I’ll go.” you finally announced, standing back up and slipping your shoes on.

“Good, it’s best if the two of you leave as soon as you can.” Seungcheol said, walking back over to the trap door. Soonyoung dropped into the tunnel, then helped you down, followed by the rest of the guys. You watched as Mingyu, the tallest out of all of you, pulled the cover back over the whole, throwing everyone into blackness.


	5. Chapter 5

Surprisingly the walk back to the palace didn’t feel nearly as long. Maybe it was because you were still dead tired and you hadn’t fully woken up, or maybe it was because you didn’t have to worry about escaping, because this time you were going towards the danger. The guys said a few things in hushed voice between themselves, but other than that it was rather quiet.

The path finally ended, bringing you back to the quiet and still palace. You pulled up your hood, covering your face once more. You doubted anyone would be up and moving about so early in the morning, but you’d rather be safe than sorry. Following close behind Soonyoung, you snuck around the palace with the others, trying to get to the entrance unnoticed. Mingyu and wonwoo split off from the group to go gather a few supplies and a horse for your journey, while you and the princes simply tried to get out of the palace unnoticed.

Seungcheol must have been taking you in a very round about way, because it took quite a while to finally come out of the side exit. Mingyu and Wonwoo were already there, waiting patiently. Wonwoo had a small bag in his hands, and Mingyu was holding the reins of a beautiful black horse. Soonyoung climbed onto the horse with no hesitation and grabbed the bag from Wonwoo and swung it over his shoulders.

“Thank you so much for everything Seungcheol.” You said, smiling at him.

“I’m sorry i wasn’t able to keep you safe the whole time.” Seungcheol replied. You shook your head.

“You did keep me safe, I’m still here, aren’t I? You better come visit me soon.” You said smiling. Seungcheol laughed quietly.

“Alright, now hurry up and go before someone sees you.” You walked over to the horse, and Mingyu helped you up.

“I was only able to get one horse in the end. I’m sorry you guys have to share.” Mingyu said as you settled onto the horse’s back behind Soonyoung.

“It’s fine Mingyu, thank you for helping us out.” Soonyoung said, getting a tighter grip on the long reins.

“Anytime, your highness.” Mingyu replied, taking a step back.

“Thanks for everything Seungcheol.” Soonyoung called out before nugging the horse to make him start walking. You waved at the three boys that stood watching you go, then wrapped your arms around Soonyoung’s waist to keep you from falling off as the horse increased speed.

You were use to riding horses, but you still had the stirrups when you rode, sharing a horse was much different than riding alone. Clinging onto Soonyoung was the only thing that was keeping you from falling off the galloping horse. The horse was going full speed down the dark forest path, how it hadn’t tripped yet was beyond you. The wind rushed past you, pulling at your hair and clothes, and causing your eyes to sting. You buried your face into Soonyoung’s back, partly to get a bit of shelter from the wind, but also to stop your head from hurting after seeing the land flash by in a blur. You stayed like that for hours. When the horse finally stopped, the sun had just began to peek out from behind the land, causing the sky to light up. The horse slowed to a walk, panting heavily, you could feel its sides rising and falling with every breath. You straightened yourself and let go of Soonyoung, resting your hands on the small amount of the horses back behind you.

“How far are we from your kingdom?” you asked.

“It’s going to take all day to get there.” Soonyoung answered, getting a sigh from you after answering.

Aside from the fact your butt and legs were completely and totally sore from sitting on the horse so long, it wasn’t the worst experience. You got to talk a lot more with Soonyoung, learning a lot more about his kingdom and the roles he played there. You watched the land turn from forest covered and hilly, to open plains and flat. Along the way you took a few breaks, stopping for meals and to stretch your sore legs, also giving the hard-working horse a well deserved break.

You lay in the tall grass, soaking in the warm sun as Soonyoung let the horse drink from a creek near by. How you managed to stay so positive through all the problems you had faced puzzled you. Maybe it was because with each situation that was thrown in your direction, someone had been by your side to help you out. You really owed a lot to the people that had helped you out. Soonyoung eventually came to join you, sitting down to your right, stretching his legs out with a content sigh.

“I’m excited to see your kingdom, Soonyoung. I’ve heard a lot of things about it. My kingdom is pretty different than yours, so i’ve always been interested to see what it’s like.” you said, sitting up to get a better view of him.

“It’s very pretty and warm…and the people are usually pretty friendly.” Soonyoung said, leaning back on one hand. “I’m excited to go back, i kinda missed it.”

The two of you sat there for a while, basking in the sun and talking about the Ocean Kingdom. Eventually the two of you got up and back on the horse. You desperately wanted to get there because you wanted to see this beautiful kingdom soonyoung had described to you, but you also wanted to get off this darn horse. You rode for the rest of the afternoon, bouncing along on the back of the horse, holding tightly to Soonyoung, still worried you would fall off. As the sun finally started to set, his kingdom came into sight.

“Oh my, Soonyoung, is that the ocean?” you exclaimed, leaning forward to get a better look, but also crushing soonyoung in the process.

“Yup, here I know…” Soonyoung said, bring the horse to a stop. He handed you the reins and jumped off, quickly climbing back on the horse, only behind you this time. You scooted forward as he reached his arms around you and took the reins from your hands.

“Now you can see everything better.” he declared.

With each new thing you saw, you became more excited. The beautiful palm trees you had only heard about in storybooks from the palace library back at your kingdom. The pretty yellow sand, the smell of the salty air. Everything was so beautiful.

“I love it here already Soonyoung.” you stated after looking for a long time.

“I’m glad, you’re probably going to be here for a while.”


	6. Chapter 6

It didn’t take to long to arrive at Soonyoung’s city. Or maybe it did? You weren’t sure, you had been to impressed with the landscape to notice the passage of time. His kingdom was just as beautiful as the landscape around it. The palace toward over the small houses that made up the village. The houses where a beautiful mix of tans and browns, complimenting the blue sky and sea that surrounded them. The people walked around in vibrantly colored clothes of all tones. The looked to be made of a thin, lightweight fabric that would have left you freezing to death if you were back at your own kingdom. The girls dresses were cut much higher than you had seen at both yours and Seungcheol’s kingdom. They came just above the knee, easily revealing the sandals they wore, or sometimes no shoes at all.

Seeing everyone dressed so appropriate for the hot weather made you become aware of how warmly you were dressed, which lead to you noticing how hot you were. You hoped you’d be able to find a change of clothing, and soon.

Soonyoung entered the surrounding city in the most hidden route possible, but even then a few people noticed his presents and bowed, welcoming him back. Naturally he smiled and was friendly to all of them, but he rushed away after each conversation, no doubt eager to get you to safety.

“Gosh it’s hot today.” Soonyoung declared, pulling at his formal jacket he had never changed from.

“Is it usually cooler?” You asked.

“Yes, but only by a little bit.” he answered. You nodded, watching as the palace grew closer with every turn the horse took.

Finally, the two of you walked through one of the back entrances of the palace, and were immediately greeted by guards. Soonyoung swung off the horse, then helped you get down. He handed the reins to one of the guards, giving instructions to take care of the horse, before walking towards the palace, you just a few paces behind him.

“You’re back early, your highness.” a boy with dark said as he suddenly appeared next to Soonyoung.

“Yes, some things came up.” Soonyoung said nonchalantly, already pulling off his jacket and handing it to the dark haired boy.

“Who’s the girl?” the shorter of the two asked.

“My guest, could you bring her to one of the guest rooms and have the maids find something cooler for her to wear?” Soonyoung asked, then came to a stop and turned to you.

“(Y/n), this is Hansol, he’s pretty much my right hand man. You can trust him.” Soonyoung declared, gesturing to the other guy. Hansol smiled, and bowed.

“Once you get (y/n) situated, come to my office please.” Soonyoung said to Hansol before excusing himself. Well, he rushed off fast… you thought as you watched him walk at a face pace down the hall, and eventually turn a corner.

“This way ma’am.” Hansol spoke, leading you down a hall, and away from Soonyoung. Reluctantly you followed, hoping that you would at least be able to change out of the stifling clothes you were currently wearing.

Hansol opened the door to the guest room, and boy, if you thought your room at Seungcheol’s palace was amazing, this topped it by far. It wasn’t as big of a room, but that didn’t bother you at all. Covering the stone floor was a tan rug with little blue designs all throughout it, and in the middle of the room was a canopy bed, the same color blue as the rug. A brown desk sat in one corner of the room, with a silver bordered mirror hanging in front of it. The best part of the room was right next to the desk. Framed by brown curtains, where two glass french doors, overlooking the beautiful blue-green sea. The doors lead to a small balcony with a brown intricately designed railing.

“Wow…” you breathed as you took a step into the room. Hansol chuckled at your reaction. After you had walked around the room a few times, the maids Hansol had called for showed up, a few outfits already in their hands.

“This is where i’ll leave you.” Hansol said, turning towards the door. “If i’m not back by the time you are finished, have one of the maids bring you to Soonyoungs office.” You nodded as he left, then turned towards the maids, who were already narrowing down the best fitting outfit for you.

Not long after you were clad in your new outfit, and honestly you couldn’t be more happy with it. It was a beautiful sea green, made of the flowy fabric you had seen on all the other citizens. The top barely reached your shoulders, and the sleeves stopped a quarter down your arm, letting the flowy fabric drape along your arms. The top stopped a bit above your stomach, and the bottoms started at your hips, leaving a bit of your stomach showing under the see-through fabric that connected the two pieces. The skirt was just as flowy as the sleeves, and stopped on one side just above the knee, leaving the other side to trail down towards your ankle, creating a nice little slant in the fabric. Everything was trimmed in a pretty gold thread, and a few little gold beads hung from the waist of your skirt.

You spun around, looking at your reflection in the mirror. That last thing you did was to through your hair up, out of your face.

“Wow, this looks really good!” you exclaimed as you slipped on a bare of brown gladiator sandals that were only a bit big on you. “Thank you so much for helping me!”

“Oh you’re welcome dear!” the older maid said smiling. “Would you like me to take you to Prince Soonyoung’s office? I hear Mr. Hansol tell you to go there after you had finished changing.”

“Yes please, that would be wonderful!” you told the maid, following her out of the room.

As it turned out, Soonyoungs office was on the other side of the kingdom, so you got a pretty good tour on the way there. The kingdom was very open compared to yours. There were tons of huge windows with flowing white curtains that fluttered in the gentle breeze that was coming off the ocean, and everything was a tan or blue of some type, with a few white accents here and there. Soonyoung’s palace was amazing, it felt like you had entered an entirely different world rather than just a different kingdom.

The maid knocked on the door before you heard a voice call to come in. She smiled at you and opened the door, gesturing for you to walk in. You smiled and thanked her for all she had done, then walked into the bright office. Soonyoung had changed into his own outfit, and it was pretty similar to yours. Naturally it was made of the same breezy fabric, but his was more regal than yours. He wore black pants that bunched right below his knee, and a black shirt that was tucked into the gold and white fabric that draped around his waist, and bringing the whole outfit together was a gold sash tied around his waist and trailing down his side. Blue and gold beads hung from his waist like yours, but another bracelet was on his right upper arm, and a few gold bands had found their place on his wrists and ankle. He wore simple brown sandals. Over his messy black hair sat a simple gold band serving as a crown, and where it met in the middle of his forehead was a sea blue stone.

“Wow…” you breathed for the second time that day. Soonyoung turned from the window he had been staring out of and looked at you. He was almost as speechless as you. Both of you just stared at each other, completely shocked at each others stunning appearance.

“Wooh, (y/n), you look good in my kingdoms clothes!” Soonyoung exclaimed, walking towards you.

“And you look really good in your prince get up!” you exclaimed, laughing a bit when you saw him blush. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“It’s quite the get-up compared to Seungcheol isn’t it?” Soonyoung asked.

“Yes,” you said nodding, “but I like it a lot more than Seungcheols.” Soonyoung smiled.

“So did you like your room?” he questioned.

“Yes!” you practically yelled. “It’s so pretty! Does everything here look like that, because from what i’ve seen so far it pretty much does!”

“Yup, that’s pretty much what everything looks like.” Soonyoung stated with a nod.

“That’s amazing! Your kingdom is so nice Soonyoung!” you declared, walking towards the window Soonyoung had previously stood in front of.

“I’m sure your kingdom is just as nice though (y/n).”

“It’s not this pretty for sure. It’s very plain to be honest.”

“Would you like to go down to the beach? The royal family has our own private section.” Soonyoung said, walking up behind you too look out at his beautiful kingdom.

“Can we?” you questioned, turning around to look at him. He smiled, causing his eyes to turn up a bit.

“Of course!”

You bounced around as Soonyoung lead you to the beach. He laughed as you struggled to walk through the dry sand. He loved his kingdom, and seeing his kingdom through someone else’s eyes only made him love it more.

You raced up to the waves that gentle rolling up to the edge of the sand, pushing up a few shells here and there.

“Soonyoung this is amazing!” you exclaimed as the water lapped around your ankles. 

“It’s always like this.” he declared, walking up and joining you in the water.

“Wow…”

After splashing around the in waves for a bit, you eventually joined Soonyoung where he sat on the sand, watching the sun slowly set over the ocean, casting its deep oranges and pinks into the blue ocean. Everything about that moment was so peaceful. The sound of the crashing waves, the beautiful painting in the sky, and most importantly, Soonyoung sitting right next to you. He leaned back on one hand and watched as you played in the sand with your feet, digging little holes and burying your toes.

“(y/n)…” he spoke in a soft voice.

“Hmm?” you hummed lazily, not bothering to take your eyes off the sky.

“I want you to meet my parents.” he finally said after a moment of silence. With only his seven words, the peacefulness of the evening was shattered.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so, idk when i can get the next part up lol, all these chapters i had already written and posted on tumblr so im finally getting around to transfering everything over, i've hit a roadblock with this one but hopfully i can get the next chapter up soon... thanks for reading!

“I… you… what?” you questioned, after being completely taken aback with his declaration.

“I want you to meet my parents, I know it’s risky, naturally it’s always risky to meet the king and queen of any kingdom, but since you’re so close to me I’m sure they won’t do anything to you.” Soonyoung stated, sitting up a bit more straight than before, only adding to the serious tension that now filled the air.

“Are you sure you want me to meet them? Won’t they get the wrong impression if you introduce a girl to them?” you asked, “I’m probably putting their kingdom in danger as well, there’s no way they will like me.”

“They’ll like you because I like you, and they impression they are going to get would be absolutely correct. I have full intentions to make this beautiful princess mine.” He said with a bright smile. You felt as if all the blood in your body had rushed to your face, making you light headed and you limbs feel like rubber. Did he just confess? You asked yourself as you stared at his smiling face. Soonyoung laughed and stood up, brushing the sand from his pants, then offered a hand to you. Slowly, you took his hand and let him pull you up, then followed him back up to the castle in a fog. You had forgotten about the stress that had just filled you at the thought of meeting the king and queen, the people with the highest power of this kingdom, who, if happened to be in a bad mood, would behead you for walking into the court the wrong way. Stories about the king of the Ocean Kingdom had travelled as far as your own kingdom, which was the furthest of all the kingdoms. No one was safe when they met with the king and queen, even their own son Soonyoung. The part of the conversation you had with Soonyoung that stuck out the most was that he liked you, and he liked you enough to introduce you to his parents. A prince introducing a girl to his parents was a big deal, no one ever did that unless they intended to marry each other… it was the only way to make sure their significant other stayed safe from their wrath.

Before you had noticed, you were standing in front of your room, and Soonyoung was staring at you.

“Get some good rest tonight, you haven’t gotten a proper night of sleep in a while.” Soonyoung stated before turning and leaving, not even waiting for a response from you.

“Goodnight!” you called as he left, your voice echoing through the long hallway.

You happily opened the door to your room, finding that the staff had shut the windows and turned down the bed, and even laid out pajamas for you to change into. You gladly changed into them, leaving your other pair of clothes folded neatly on the desk before crawling into the soft bed, falling asleep within seconds of your head landing on the pillow.

The next morning you woke up to sun shinning on your face and the salty ocean breeze blowing the sound of the crashing waves into your room. You sat up in bed and looked out the window that someone had opened while you were sleeping. You slipped out from under the covers and walked out onto the balcony, leaning against the railings and taking in the beautiful scenery that lay under your eyes. 

Not long after you had crawled out from bed had a maid arrived, almost as if they had sensed you had woken up. She helped you change into the outfit you had on the day before since you didn’t have any other outfits, “but we’ve sent in an order to get more, so don’t worry honey,” the maid had told you. You smiled and nodded, not really caring whether you had one outfit or a million, all that matters was that you weren’t crushed by the stifling heat of the ocean sun. So far, the heat was the only complaint you had about this beautiful place. Having grown up in a kingdom that was always cold, the sudden heat was too much for your poor body.

“Prince Soonyoung is waiting for you at breakfast.” the maid announced after you had finished putting yourself together. You nodded and headed out to the room. Soonyoung had pointed out the dining room sometime yesterday, you could probably find it again…right? Wrong. Within a few seconds you were totally lost in the maze of hallways that made up the huge palace.

After wandering around for a while, you finally found another person who you quickly rushed up to for help. He had blonde hair and a round face and was a bit shorter looking than Soonyoung.

“Excuse me, could you help me find the dining hall?” you asked, hoping he wouldn’t throw you out of the palace, thinking you where some random person that had somehow made their way into the palace.

“Oh hello! You’re Soonyoung’s guest (y/n), right?” He questioned, smiling at you. You nodded, instantly relieved he knew who you were. “I’ll show you, just follow me!” he said, turning the opposite direction you had been looking in.

“My names Seungkwan by the way, I think you’ve meet Hansol right? I do pretty much the same thing as him.” He explained as you followed him through several hallways, the area slowly becoming more familiar as you continued to walk. You listened to Seungkwan go one about various things, something he and Hansol had done this morning, a few things Soonyoung had told him about you, and his first impression of you when he saw you walking with Soonyoung yesterday. He was quite the chatterbox, but you didn’t have much to say, and what he was talking about was pretty interesting, so you didn’t mind.

Eventually you made it to the dining hall, and like the maid had told you, Soonyoung was waiting for you. A big smile grew onto his face when you opened the door. You thanked Seungkwan, then walked over to the long table. Rather than taking the seat at the other end of the long table like you knew you should have, you sat down in the seat to the left of Soonyoung. If possible, Soonyoung’s smile grew even bigger. He was obviously flattered you went against the royalty norms in order to sit closer to him.

“Did you sleep well? It sure did take a while for you to get here.” Soonyoung said with a chuckle.

“I slept really well! I actually got lost on the way here, that’s why it took so long. Seungkwan helped me in the end though.” you explained as one of the staff workers began to set the table for the breakfast you and Soonyoung were about to eat. He laughed when he realized you got lost.

“Is the palace really that big?” he asked, picking up a fork and leaning against the table. Apparently all manners were out at this breakfast. At first glance no one would have been able to tell you two were royalty, aside from the fancy outfits the two of you where sporting.

“Compared to mine it is…” you answered, also picking up a fork and stabbing it into a piece of fruit that sat on your plate.

The two of you continued to talk all throughout breakfast, and even long after the food had been cleared away. You talked and laughed and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere.

“What do you want to do today?” Soonyoung questioned, leaning back in his chair. “You’ll meet with the King and Queen when your new wardrobe comes in, and that should be either tomorrow or the day after that, so we’ve got some time on our hand.” you nodded as he spoke, letting out a quiet sigh of relief, at least you had time to mentally prepare yourself to meet such powerful people.

“What is there to do?” you asked, then watched as Soonyoung pondered over the question, his fingers tracing patterns on the cloth that covered the table.

“We could go walk around the town…” he finally answered with a sparkle in his eye.

“Is it safe?” you asked.

“Yah, its not like Seungcheols, plus we have guards all over the surrounding city. I do it all the time.” You nodded.

“So that’s why you were so clueless when we went out at Seungcheols.” you giggled. Soonyoung cocked his head in confusion, but didn’t ask for you to elaborate.

“That sounds like a good plan to me.” you finally declared. To be honest, you loved wandering around towns. You were never aloud to when you still lived at your kingdom, for reasons unknown to you. Naturally, you snuck out every chance you had though.

“Alright cool! Let’s head out now!” Soonyoung exclaimed, standing up so fast his chair made a horrible scraping noise against the stone floor. 

The two of you excitedly walked out of the palace and towards the gates. Soonyoung stopped and talked with the guards for a bit, the three of them laughing before Soonyoung started down the path again. The sword strapped around Soonyoung’s waist was the only protection the two of you had, but you later realized chance of you needing it were extremely slim. The townsfolk excitedly greeted Soonyoung with small bows, or none at all. He was equally as friendly with them, and treated them as friends rather than subjects, something you had never seen from anyone else before. 

“Welcome to my world (y/n).” Soonyoung declared as the two of you made your way through the crowded street, a proud smile noticeable as he looked over all that surrounded.


	8. Chapter 8

Your eyes widened as you made a three sixty, taking in everything from where you stood in the middle of the town square. How could any town be so pretty? Soonyoung’s kingdom was slowly starting to seem more and more unreal with every step you took in it. From the beautiful scenery, to breath-taking palace, and now this stunning town? Impossible for sure. The stone paths that all connected at the middle, and from the point they connected, a beautiful pattern of shells pressed into the stone flowed out in a symmetrical pattern. Each little shop that lined the path gave off a beachy feel, but all had unique aspects to them. A few had plants hanging from various windows and in pots around them, while others had strings of shells hanging from the door, tinkling in the gentle ocean breeze. You made out a flower shop, a little bakery, something that looked like a fish shop, a vegetable stand, and even a book store. You were overwhelmed by the number of things to look at. Soonyoung only laughed at you as you continued to turn in place over and over again. The people bustled about, but there was a certain calmness about them. At your kingdom, people rushed through the cold outside, eager to get back into the warmth of their house, sometimes you could even spot a few people running, but here, everyone moved with ease, stopping to peek into a shop before continuing on their way. You liked the calm feeling. 

When you finally had finished looking at everything your eyes could reach, you headed straight for the bookstore. Soonyoung followed, smiling politely and bowing to the few towns people that recognized him. The bookstore was just as pretty inside as it was outside. You skimmed through many books, finding all types of books you had never even heard of. Next, Soonyoung pulled you towards a shop where he ordered some kind of drink and gave it to you. You hesitantly took a sip only to be met with the wonderful taste of cold fruit juice. You squealed with delight at its delicious taste and shared the glass with Soonyoung, claiming that it was just too good to not share with someone. The two of you wandered the town for a long time, walking into various shops and talking to a few people here and there. As the day progressed the town only became busier and more beautiful. By a fountain not far from the center of town you met the three cutest children you had ever seen and ended up playing with them. At first it was just making silly faces, but soon the four of you were running circles around the fountain and even splashing a little bit of its water at each other. Soonyoung watched from a few paces away, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword and a smile on his face. 

“She’s very beautiful.” an old lady said, suddenly appearing by his side. 

“Yes, she is, isn’t she?” Soonyoung answered, not even moving from the lady’s sudden appearance. 

“You must love her very much…” she said, smiling up at Soonyoung, “I can see it in your eyes.” Soonyoung looked down at the frail old women and smiled warmly at her.  
“I do love her, she’s quite an amazing person.”  he declared, his smile slowly growing as he turned his attention back to you. 

“The two of you will make a lovely couple, your highness.” The lady spoke, before waving to her grandchildren you were playing with. They came running to her side, leaving you standing next the fountain. As the old lady and the children walked off, Soonyoung made his way over to you, as you had already made yourself comfortable sitting on the edge of the fountain. 

There was something about Soonyoung’s smile that filled you with butterflies. You had seen him smiling so many other times, but this smile in particular had something to it. It was a triumphant smile, as if he had just won an argument with someone, but his eyes carried nothing but love. Love for you? Love for his kingdom? Who knows, but what you knew was that with each passing hour you were falling for the charming prince. He sat down next to you and leaned back on one hand, crossed his legs and let out a long sigh.

“So, what do you think of my kingdom now that you’ve seen even more of it?” Soonyoung asked after some time had passed. 

“If anything, Soonyoung, I love it even more than before!” You exclaimed, looking happily up at the starry sky that had appeared while you were playing with the children. 

“It’s so much nicer than my kingdom! We never got the chance to be outside like this, and anything inside wasn’t as fun. Your kingdom feels like magic…” Soonyoung laughed at your last comment. 

“I’m sure your kingdom isn’t too bad.” He replied as the two of you watched the hanging lanterns slowly become lit. Soft music could be heard from one of the shops open doors, only making the warm weather and noises from the insects mix together to create the perfect atmosphere. You wished that time would freeze and you and Soonyoung could stay like this forever. You wouldn’t have to worry about being hunted down, or meeting the King and Queen, no issues. Everything would just stay how it should be; perfect. Soonyoung let out a long sigh before standing up and turning to you. 

“We should probably head back since it’s getting dark. I’d like to avoid any potential run ins with your crazy stalker.” he said with a chuckle. You nodded in agreement and stood up, following him and he began to journey back to his palace.

The walk back to the castle was just as peaceful and the rest of the day, and you and Soonyoung continued to carry a light conversation the whole trip back. Soonyoung walked you back to your room, to avoid the possibility of you getting lost and you settled down into the fluffy bed once again, shocked by how quickly the day had flown by. 

You continued to explore the kingdom for several days. Usually Soonyoung was off dealing with some of his royal duties, so you tended to hang out with Seungkwan or Hansol, exploring more of the beautiful palace and even taking a few walks along the beach. Seungkwan and Hansol turned out to be a lot of fun, and there were multiple times your cheeks and stomach hurt from laughing so hard. The two of them were quite the duo. You woke up one morning to find the maids bringing in some new outfits for you. They were the most exquisite things you had ever seen. All different fabrics and colors, but nice soft colors, nothing too outlandish. When you found out that Soonyoung had left it up to the maids to pick outfits out for you, you couldn’t help but thank them over and over again. Not only did they have a great taste in clothes, but they knew exactly what you liked. You were going to have to find a way to thank them for sure. 

Amidst all your joy over finally having a few new outfits, it finally occurred to you that you have no solid reason to put off meeting the king and queen. Talk about stress levels peaking faster than light. You tried to brush the thought aside and headed towards breakfast, now dressed in your nice, new dusty pink dress that draped over your body in the most flattering way possible. When you arrived at the dining hall, Soonyoung was already there waiting for you. When he saw the new dress, a small grin broke out, and there was a certain twinkle in his eye that you had only seen once or twice. 

“The new outfit looks nice on you, princess.” he declared as you made your way to your seat and examined the options for breakfast. 

“Thank you, prince.” you said back with a slight laugh. It wasn’t until after the meal that Soonyoung brought up the elephant in the room. 

“So, you’ll be meeting my parents today then, won’t you?” Soonyoung finally said in a soft voice.  

“Yah I guess so…” you replied, twisting your fork in your hand. 

“It’ll be fine (y/n), they know i wouldn’t bring someone who wasn’t a good match for me.” he said. His words made you face heat up almost as soon as he had uttered them. “I really do like you (y/n).” 

You had wanted time to freeze the last time you were out with Soonyoung, but this time really did seem to freeze. You knew Soonyoung liked you, and he knew you knew, but this was the first time he flat out said it. All the blood had rushed to your face, and you could tell the same was for Soonyoung. 

“I really like you too Soonyoung.” you finally said, your smile growing with each word. The two of you continued to smile at each other for a few seconds before Hansol walked through the open doorframe. He gave the two of you a knowing smile, and winked a bit at Soonyoung, leaving the both of you a bit flustered. 

“So… The King and Queen are free this afternoon. (Y/n) can meet them then.” Hansol declared while looking over a sheet of paper. “And Prince, you’ve got a meeting in about 30 minutes, but you should be able to see (y/n) before she has to meet with your parents.” Soonyoung nodded as Hansol continued to tell him the day's schedule while you tried to keep yourself calm and tried not to think about the afternoon to come. 

Soonyoung said a quick goodbye, and promised he would make it back before you had to meet the king and queen, even if it meant leaving his meeting early, and you thanked him. He gave your hand a little squeeze and a knowing look before leaving for the morning, and you set off to wandering around the castle again, trying to calm your nerves. Hopefully you would meet Seungkwan or someone as you walked around. Surprisingly, you didn’t run into a single person as you walked around the castle grounds. You found yourself coming to land in the gardens that were behind the palace, facing the ocean. You stared at the koi fish that swam around in the small crystal-clear pond and smiled at the passing butterflies as they fluttered over to a flower bush. This was going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is gonna be wild get ready lol


	9. Chapter 9

“The prince has finished his meeting, he’s looking for you.” Hansol declared walking up to where you had come to sit in the beautiful garden. The meeting had taken much longer then you imaged, and it was already midday when hansol came to get you. You nodded slowly, knowing full well what was to come after meeting up with Soonyoung. While it always makes a person uneasy to meet the King and Queen of the land, the Ocean Kingdom’s King and Queen were much harsher than the other kingdoms. Soonyoung’s father and your own had gotten along well enough, but you had overheard plenty of your father’s conversations about what goes on in the Ocean Kingdom. That’s why when you were little you tried to make sure to steer clear of Soonyoung anytime he showed up in your kingdom. Being in the kingdom itself had brought up these memories. And now, not only are you about to face the two harshest rulers on the continent, but you were meeting them as the very possible bride to their son, and as a princess whose own kingdom is chasing after. The odds were against you. There was no possible way this meeting would go well. 

“How can such a beautiful kingdom have such harsh rulers…” you mumbled to yourself as you followed Hansol back into the palace to meet up with Soonyoung.

You had reached the point of stressing yourself out so much that you were too tired to actually worry about anything when the time came. Whatever happened, happened, and there was nothing you could do to prevent it from happening. At worse, the King and Queen would turn you over to your kingdom. To kill you would most definitely end up in a war between kingdoms, and it’s highly unlikely the Ocean Kingdom is looking for war. Now, sure, you were 99% sure you would be killed as soon as you got near the Snow Kingdom, but there was still that 1% chance you wouldn’t, right? Soonyoung, despite looking calm, was far from it. He could barely sit through the meeting. He wanted so badly for his parent’s approval, and if anything did go wrong, it would be his fault because he was the one who arranged for everyone to meet.   
Now was the long awaited ‘make or break’ moment. You and Soonyoung stood in front of the tall wooden double doors that led into the huge hall the King and Queen resided in. After crossing through these doors, your fate would be decided. Soonyoung reached down and grabbed your hand, giving it a tight squeeze. You looked over at him.

“It’s going to be okay. I’ll be with you every step of the way.” Soonyoung said. Part of you felt that he said that to comfort himself as well, but there wasn’t much time to think about it. The doors began to creak open and Soonyoung let go of your hand, offering one more comforting smile that made your heart flutter even during a stressful time like this.

The inside was very different then your own Hall back home. The floors were a beautiful white marble and tall windows rose up on both sides of the walls, open and letting the salty sea air blow against the white curtains that hung down on either side of each window. At the end of the hall sat the King and Queen's thrown, elevated on a platform of sorts. Each seat and tapestries behind them were adorned with a deep purple and beautiful shades of blue, all pulled together with gold accents. The King was just as dashing as his son, but was starting to grey a bit. The Queen looked lovely and regal, but in the end, both looked extremely stiff and nothing like Soonyoung with his relaxed manner. 

As the two of you made the long walk towards the King and Queen, you noticed how different Soonyoung seemed. He stood up taller and straighter, and his face looked stone cold. He no longer gave off a calm, easy going vibe. Standing next to him didn’t feel like standing in a beautiful green meadow with golden sunlight streaming down, and it was scary how quickly he had changed. You followed closely next to Soonyoung, trying your best to put off the cold vibe as well, but no doubt failing. The only sound in the room was the fluttering of curtains and the footsteps from you and Soonyoung, and the occasional clang as Soonyoung’s sword hit up against something. When the two of you finally came to a stop in front of the King and Queen, there was a stifling silence. You could feel their eyes look you up and down. All you wanted to do was run away as fast as possible. But you couldn’t know. You were stuck. 

“So, you’re the person our Soonyoung is in love with…” The Queen mused. You felt a shiver run down your spine. 

“Yes ma’am.” you spoke, trying hard to keep your voice from shaking. This experience was almost worse then being chased out of your own kingdom by your step-mother. 

“Where are you from?” The king questioned.

“I’m the princess of the Snow Kingdom.” you replied

“And why are you not in your own kingdom? I’m sure you are needed there.” the queen asked. You could almost feel the blood drain from your face. There is no telling what they would do if they found out you were being chased by your own kingdom. With your crazy step-mother, if someone found out you were hiding in the ocean kingdom a whole military could be sent to retrieve you. Next to you, Soonyoung shifted from one foot to another, worried as to how you might answer the question. You thought for a second, but not wanting to take any longer and make it look suspicions you finally answered. 

“I wanted to see what each kingdom looked like before I have to fully take on my title. I met Prince Soonyoung while I was in the Mountain Kingdom.” The queen nodded, but you noticed a small frown appear on the king's face. Did he know? 

“Your father passed away recently did he not? What a shame, he was a good man.” the king stated. You nodded. Things were going to smoothly, something didn’t seem right.

“But your stepmother is still, around right? Shouldn’t you be at home to comfort her. She has lost her husband after all?” 

“We were never very close, I figured it would be smartest if I left her at home so she could mourn by herself…” you answered, trying to word your sentences perfectly. You could feel Soonyoung tense up next to you. Something wasn’t right at all, even Soonyoung agreed with you. There was a moment of silence between the four of you. All that could be heard was the gentle flapping of the curtains in the ocean breeze. The king let out a long sigh and leaned forward in his chair. 

“Soonyoung, will you please go wait outside?” the king spoke, his tone of voice making it more of a statement then a questioned. Every muscle in your body froze as you watched him slowly look towards you, a look in his eyes that held too many emotions to read with the quick glance. He bowed to the king and queen then turned around and walked back down the long hall and out the doors. The one thing that made you feel safe was now gone. You heard the king clear his throat and looked up at him, his hands clasped around the arms of his chair. 

“I’m going to get straight to the point Miss (y/n). I know what is going on in your kingdom. I’m aware of your queen’s actions and why you are currently not in your own kingdom. That is something you must deal with on your own. You will get no help from this kingdom so long as i am in charge. While your father was alive, he created a powerful army unlike any of the other kingdoms. Why he created such a powerful army when all of the four kingdoms are at peace is still a mystery to me, but I will not have the Snow Queen's biggest target living in my kingdom when she has such a powerful force behind her. And I certainly will not allow my son to get tangled up with such a person as you. Leave my kingdom as soon as possible, and drop all contact with the Prince.” Your heart dropped. Of course, this would happen, it was inevitable.

“Where should I go?” you questioned, something you probably shouldn’t have asked, but did anyway. 

“It doesn’t matter to us, but you may soon find that all the kingdoms will turn you away when they find out about the Queen and her actions.” the king answered, leaning back into his thrown. 

“All that matters to us, as both the rulers of this kingdom, and parents, is that you leave Soonyoung out of this. He doesn’t need to go around chasing after some run away like you. I recommend that you stay as far away from the prince as possible before you leave, or there will be some consequences.” The queen spoke up. You didn’t know what to say, what could you have said? You finally managed to stumble out a shaky, quiet “yes ma’am” before turning around and walking out of the hall. Your legs shook with each step that you took. You were worried they’d give out before you left the hall.

When you finally reached the doors and walked passed them, and you heard the faint click as they latched together you finally let yourself go. Soonyoung was nowhere in sight, one of the castle staff probably pulled him away by the king and queen’s request. Every part of you was shaking, from your legs to your hands. You could feel the hot tears start to spill from your eyes. You just ran. You ran straight through the castle, passed your room and passed the garden, right off the castle grounds and straight for the ocean. It was already dark out. The once friendly seeming ocean was now dark and cold. The sea breeze saw sharp and cold, whipping the sand around your bare legs, stinging each time a grain of sand flew against your skin. You pushed your hair out of your face, trying desperately to calm down. You stood there for a while, watching and listening as the waves crashed against the shore. You knew that the best outcome for you from that situation was simply being told to leave, but to drop all contact from Soonyoung was a different matter. The queen said there would be consequences if you spoke with Soonyoung, you didn’t know if these consequences would be against you or Soonyoung, but all that mattered to you was that Soonyoung stayed safe, and if leaving the kingdom meant that he would be safe, that is what you are going to do. You decided to take a little walk along the shore before heading back to your room to get a little more sleep before leaving tomorrow.   
You watched as crabs scuttled away every now and then, and listened to the waves and the sound of the wind rustling the plants that grew on the sand duns. Among these noises, you picked up footsteps that weren’t your own. Was guy from earlier back? Did the king and queen change their mind and send someone to kill you? You quickly turned around and your heart stopped. There, maybe thirty or so feet away from you stood none other than Soonyoung.

“(Y/n)! Are you okay? Some guard took me and locked me in my room but I escaped! What happened?” Soonyoung shouted over the wind, starting to walk towards you. 

“No! Soonyoung stop! Don’t get any closer I don’t know what’ll happen!” You shouted back. He stopped immediately, but gave you a confused look. 

“Soonyoung, I-” you began, ringing your hands together. “I really do love you. I love you more than anything else.” you said just loud enough to be heard over the wind. A warm smile spread across Sooyoung's face, and even from where you stood you could see his eyes sparkling with joy. Right as you opened your mouth to say another thing a look of terror crossed Soonyoung’s face. 

 

“(Y/N) LOOK OUT!” He screamed, already taking a few steps towards you. You didn’t even have time to react. Right as he spoke those words something sharp slammed into your back. At first you thought maybe a rock or something had been thrown against your back, but then you felt it. A sharp, biting pain spread through your body faster than wildfire. You dropped to your knees and reached to your shoulder only to come into contact with something smooth sticking out of your back. You’d been shot by an arrow. You looked up in horror to see Soonyoung still running towards you. His hand was reaching for his sword when the arrow finally found its way to him. The first hit him in the shoulder, the second near the stomach. You didn’t know anything about fatal wounds, but it couldn’t have been good. Soonyoung dropped down into the sand no more than ten feet away from you. Everything before him seemed to happen in slow motion. He watched, helpless as you were knocked unconscious, and he watched as someone bent over your body and tied up your hands. He slowly slipped into the darkness, the last thing he saw was you being carried away by some unknown hooded figure. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to stay awake and chase after you, but the darkness swallowed him before he could do anything.


	10. Chapter 10

When you finally came back to it was still night, but by the way you felt you could tell that it had been a day or two. Whoever had shot you hadn’t bothered to take out the arrow, only to cut off some of it so it was easier to move you around. The pain was unlike no other, to the point where you didn’t have any desire to move. Your kidnapper had stopped for the night, propping you up against a small tree. When the fire he had built finally grew to a decent size you were able to see your surroundings more clearly, and realized you were far from the ocean kingdom. Instead of the beautiful ocean and lush plants you were in the desert, surrounded by nothing more than a few struggling trees and some bushes. It was much colder than the other two kingdoms you’d spent time in, but you knew that the days were extremely hot.

You turned your attention to your kidnapper, who sat near the fire, poking a stick into it every now and then. Was this the same person who had been chasing after you since you left your own kingdom, or someone the king and queen of the ocean kingdom has sent after you? You doubted it was from the king and queen since he also shot Soonyoung several times… Soonyoung! You had forgotten about him! You stomach dropped and the world seemed to spin around you. Was he okay? Someone had to have found him by now or was he still laying on the beach? But most importantly was he even still alive? You didn’t know much about fatal spots to be shot, but if he passed out it can’t be good no matter what. What on earth were you going to do? Escaping wasn’t going to be easy. Not only had you been shot, but both your arms and legs were tied. You were completely defenseless.

Sleep was not something that was on your mind, especially while you were sitting unprotected in the desert. It had to at least be the middle of the night or early morning, and the fire was nothing more than embers. Your eyes were starting to droop when you heard a sound. Immediately you straightened up against the tree, something or someone was out there. Most Likely, it was a hungry animal looking for food, who was going to be out wandering in the middle of the desert? You tried to look around, but you couldn’t see anything. Right, time to accept your fate of death by wild, hungry animals. However, it turned out that it was not, in fact, wild hungry animals… well, the wild part may still be in question. The embers of the fire basically offered no light at this point, and your kidnapper was still fast asleep when they ascended into the “campsite” of yours. You watched in terror from the tree you’d been propped up on as two dark, tall figures creeped closer and closer to your sleeping kidnapper. The moon offered just enough light that you could see the reflections from a blade. You didn’t dare move.

One of them crouched down and examined your captures face, quickly standing up and whispering something to the other. It seems like the knew who this person was, whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, you weren’t sure yet. After they stopped talking, they both quickly turned around and began looking for something. In a flash one of them was pointing to where you sat, and you never wanted to slam your head against a tree harder. This couldn’t be good. Should you pretend to be asleep and hope they would just leave you alone once they realized there was nothing on you worth robbing, or should you try to convince them to let your free? Maybe try to fight back somehow in case they were only out for blood? You had no idea what to do, so you simply sat there, wide eyed and frozen. The came towards you slowly, as you would walk up to a wild beast to keep from spooking it.

“Hey!” one of them whispered, “Hey! Miss? Are you okay?” you didn’t answer.

“It’s okay! We can help you!” the other whispered, taking a step closer. You shifted a bit from where you sat. Had Soonyoung sent them? There’s no way you could have been tracked down that fast.

“I promise we won’t hurt you, this guy’s always out trying to get people, I’ve had enough of it.” the first guy whispered, finally coming close enough to start cutting the ropes that tied you down.

“Thank you…” you whispered as the last tight rope fell to the ground.

“Can you stand? We have to go as quickly as possible.” the taller of the two asked. You slowly stood up, your sore muscles creaking with each movement. You felt unbelievably weak, but the adrenaline was starting to kick in. Simply the thought of being able to get away from this guy was enough to give you strength to hike up your dress and silently run away with the other two.

After maybe a ten minute walk your adrenaline was starting to wear off, but thankfully the other two had horses on standby. Without those horses, you would have just collapsed there. The skinnier of the two helped you onto the horse, and climbed on behind you, and while the dark midnight sky was finally starting to show its morning colors of light blue the two horses took off, taking you with them.

Somewhere along the ride to wherever they were taking you, you had passed out. You weren’t sure if it was because of the pain in your shoulder, or the lack of sleep you’d gotten, or both perhaps, but when you woke up, you were feeling much better for sure.  It took you a while to come to your sense. The room was dark and warm, weaved straw mats lay beneath you, and around you were old, cracking stone plastered walls. You were covered in a simply wool blanket and lay in a bed of mismatched furs. Slowly, you sat up and realized that someone had cleaned and bandaged the wound in your shoulder. On top of that you were in new clothes. When you finally stood up at of the bed you fully examined the new clothes you were wearing. Both your pants and shirt were made from the same soft, lightweight cream-colored cotton, that hung closely around your body in many different folds and drapes.  In the same fabric, tied around your waist was a big sash, holding down your shirt, and almost acting as a belt to hold up your high rising pants. You headed for the opening of the room, a much lighter room than the one before.

The next room was much larger than the one you’d woken up in, but still quite small. In the middle sat a fire, with three people around it. The two crouching were dressed similar to you, and the other one standing was quite different. He wore much more layers and dark leather boots that came up to his knees as opposed to the small slippers the other two were wearing. He was adorned with a few beads and wore a turban that looked as if, worn correctly it would cover all of his face except his eyes, but he had messed with it so that it hung to one side limply, allowing his face to be exposed. In one hand was a long spear, which he kept spinning between his fingers absentmindedly.

Once you walked into the room the standing guy’s head shot up, causing the other two to rise and look over at you.

“How are you feeling?” the taller one in mostly brown asked.

“Um… a lot better thank you…” you answered slowly, looking slowly from person to person.

“Ah, I’m Junhui.” the tallest one said. “This is Minghao,” he introduced, pointing to the skinny one dressed in mostly tans, “and this is Seokmin.” he finished, gesturing over to the very well off looking guy. You nodded.

“So, where exactly am I?” you questioned after a moment of silence.

“You’re in the Desert Kingdom. You’re not from around, here are you? It looked like you were wearing Ocean Kingdom clothes, but your skin is to light to have truly been from that kingdom.”  Minghao said.

“Ah…”

“And how’d you get tied up with that one guy anyways?” Seokmin questioned, leaning his spear against the crumbling wall.

“Well… I’m not really sure, I have some speculations, but I’m not sure how accurate they are.”

“See, she even talks differently, I knew there was something special about her.” Junhui exclaimed.

“Are you from the snow kingdom? No one else of this land could stay as pale as you if not from the snow kingdom.” Minghao questioned. You narrowed your eyes. Could you really trust these three guys? Sure, they did save you from your capture and help you regain your strength but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t turn you in if they found out who you were. Junhui and Minghao obviously weren’t the wealthiest, and from the bits that you’d already put together it wasn't hard to tell they were most likely living as thieves or bandits. Seokmin seemed a little different, but obviously similar enough to still be around two people like Junhui and Minghao. Who’s to say that if they found out you where the missing princess of the Snow Kingdom they wouldn’t turn you in, because there is no doubt a bounty on your head at this point. Who cares if they turn you in, you’d lost Soonyoung at this point. You didn’t know if he was even still alive, and even if he was, it was about a one percent chance that you’d be able to see him again. The king and queen had basically banished you from the ocean kingdom. So, unless you met Soonyoung somewhere else there was no chance of seeing him, assuming of course, he’s still alive.

“Yes, actually, I am from the Snow Kingdom.” you answered, walking closer to the three of them to close the awkward space between you.

“Oh cool!” Junhui exclaimed.

“Are you that princess on the run that Chan’s mentioned?” Minghao questioned.

“...Chan?” you asked back.

“Prince Chan of the Desert Kingdom miss.” Seokmin explained. You nodded.

“Well, i mean i guess there’s no point in hiding it, but yes i am, and I’m currently trying to run away and not get killed.” you stated.

“Good thing Junhui and I stopped that guy from getting you.”

“Yes, thank you so much for that!” you exclaimed with such gratitude in your voice the boys couldn’t help but smile.

“How’d you even get in that situation?” Seokmin questioned. And so, the four of you settled down around the fire as you quickly re-lived the story, telling about why you were forced to leave your own kingdom, and how you went from one kingdom to another, and eventually the part on the beach and about how Soonyoung was shot multiple times and you had no idea how he was doing.

“I’m sure he’s okay. He seems like a very strong-willed man miss.” Seokmin declared.

“Please, just call me (y/n). But I hope he’s truly okay. I wish i had a way of knowing…” right as you finished your sentence there was a knock on the door. Seokmin launched from the ground and grabbed his spear while both Junhui and Minghao reached for the weapons, tucked and hidden away beneath their many layers of clothes.

“It’s me! Chan! Now hurry up and open the door before the guards find me and take me back to the palace!” A voice from outside called. Seokmin rushed over to the door and yanked it open, revealing a very young looking light haired boy who could only be the one and only Prince Chan of the Desert Kingdom.


End file.
